Women’s cricket
IN November 2021, the then Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja revealed his plans of stealing a march on the country’s Asian rivals by starting the first women’s franchise league. We got our first glimpse of the Women’s League last October. With its dates earmarked for March this year, the four-team event was set to run alongside the Pakistan Super League. But late last year, PCB’s leadership changed, and this effectively, led to a change of plans. Three women’s exhibition matches are set to be played this month with the league slated for later this year. But even if the Women’s League had begun according to the original schedule, it would very likely have been trumped by India’s Women’s Premier League. The women’s version of the Indian Premier League began on Saturday, with top players from across the world part of its inaugural edition. Pakistan’s cricketers of course are missing out but the exhibition matches slated for March 8, 10 and 11 will see 10 foreign players, including South Africa’s Laura Woldvaart — one of the stars of the team’s run to the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup last month. The contingent of foreign players, divided into two teams, also includes Chamari Athapaththu and Laura Delany, who captained Sri Lanka and Ireland respectively at the World Cup.
Pakistan returned a dismal performance at the T20 World Cup, winning just one out of four matches — a performance indicative of the fact that the women’s game is in need of a boost. Long-serving skipper Bismah Maroof has stepped down, calling for a new leader ahead of the next cycle of events. Across the border, the Women’s Premier League will help Indian players build on their performance at the World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals. It will also promote their players, raise their profile and bring in more money to improve them further. Women’s cricket in Pakistan needs a similar shot in the arm.
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2023
US blacklist
THE Pakistan-US relationship often results in bizarre contradictions. While officials from both sides regularly issue statements about improving trade and development ties, Pakistani firms are also put on American blacklists, making it difficult for these companies to do business internationally. In the latest such development, a number of local firms have been put on the US Commerce Department’s ‘entity list’, allegedly “for contributing to ballistic missile programmes of concern, including Pakistan’s missile programme, and for involvement in unsafeguarded nuclear activities”. Several Pakistani entities were similarly blacklisted in December for apparently the same reasons, while Joe Biden’s off-colour remark, terming Pakistan “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” due to its nuclear programme, should also be recalled, even though the US president’s handlers tried to spin his comments differently. In the latest blacklisting, firms have also been targeted for aiding Russia and China’s military ambitions, as well as helping Iran break sanctions. The US Treasury Department warned the UAE recently for continuing to trade with Russia. It can safely be assumed that rather than any legitimate concerns about Pakistani firms breaking international laws, the blacklisting is purely geopolitical, in effect a message from Uncle Sam in the same vein as ‘are you with us or against us?’
These developments should serve as a wake-up call for Pakistan’s policymakers. As the Ukraine war drags on, and the US indulges in combative rhetoric with China, Pakistan needs to plan accordingly. For if push comes to shove, especially on the China front, Pakistan may be asked to make hard choices. This will obviously not be an easy decision. Islamabad’s ties with Beijing are deep and strategic, but relations with the US are also important. Therefore, progressive and sagacious foreign policy decisions are required, keeping Pakistan’s interest paramount, and not getting dragged into other people’s conflicts. It must also be noted that while the US raises concerns about Pakistan’s missile programme, Washington and its European allies are pumping billions of dollars’ worth of weapons into Ukraine, ensuring that the war drags on. Pakistan is a responsible state, and while our internal squabbles may not be sending a positive message to the world, clarity is needed in foreign policy messaging. Ultimately, Pakistan must stress the need to resolve all disputes peacefully and reject bloc politics, while refusing to entertain unnecessary curbs on its defence needs.
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2023
Elections in Punjab
We finally have a firm date for the Punjab Assembly elections. After a protracted legal tussle over who would make the announcement and when elections could be held, which was recently settled by the Supreme Court, the president, in consultation with the Election Commission, has chosen Sunday, April 30, as the day lawmakers will be elected to Pakistan’s largest provincial assembly for the next five years.
In the context of Pakistan’s electoral politics, it is often said that whoever takes Punjab takes Pakistan. We can therefore anticipate an intense political battle in the lead-up to the polls. The announced date places the election on the weekend after Ramazan ends, which gives rise to some interesting questions. How will the parties manage their campaigns during a month that is usually devoted to religious activities? How will public sentiment be shaped by the fervent spirituality of the month? What will drawing-room debates be like during the Eid festivities?
Since the matter has been settled by the Supreme Court — the Constitution, in any case, had been abundantly clear about the timeline for elections to the assemblies — both the government and the state are now bound to extend every possible facilitation to the ECP. Excuses like shortage of funds and unavailability of personnel hold no water, considering that the electoral exercise is the central feature of parliamentary democracy as conceptualised in our Constitution.
The armed forces, too, should be ready to provide security to the polling process when and wherever it is requisitioned. The ECP, too, should fully prepare itself. Election day should not see any disorganisation or disruption in the voting, counting and results transmission processes. It is of paramount importance that these elections be held in an environment that offers a level playing field to all political parties and that the exercise itself is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
Finally, it is the responsibility of all candidates and political parties to train and delegate polling agents to each polling station on election day, sensitise them regarding their responsibilities, and put in place an efficient monitoring mechanism to keep a check and balance on the counting exercise. These elections will, undoubtedly, be unprecedented in more ways than one. All efforts should be made, by all stakeholders, to keep them as free from controversy as possible.
There is still time for the political parties to sit down and agree on a code of conduct for the exercise. They must agree to some mutually decided conditions so that the results of the election do not end up being disputed. The ballot box is where all pending disputes should be settled. We have to start moving forward from the intense turmoil that has consumed Pakistan since last year. Let the contest begin.
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2023